Superb steam miniatures at the Abbey Hill Rally

Joseph Lewis reports on the 40 or so steam miniatures he found on show at the 2024 Abbey Hill Rally in Somerset, on May 3rd-6th.

These included engines and owners from Somerset, Dorset, Hampshire, Glamorgan, Gloucestershire and Dan Scobie from Warwickshire with his 2016 Garrett 4CD Tilly which is a half-size version of the original 4CD.

One of the notable entries was a 4in scale Burrell crane engine exhibited by Ben Carter and his son, Lewis. Derek Evenson from Bolton, Lancashire built the engine in 2000 and it was commissioned in 2003, being based on the full-size Lord Derby. Ben and Lewis have recently had the boiler cladding renewed and enjoy showing their crane engine as there are not many crane engines in miniature. Ben named the engine Pete’s Dream after his dad.

One of the more unusual scale miniatures was an 8in Burrell Gold Medal owned by Clive Poole from Bideford, Devon, making his first visit to Abbey Hill. 2024 is the engine’s first rally season. This Burrell miniature was built by Anthony Theaker in Leeds over 11 years, designed by EKP in Barnstaple with castings from Bridport and bought by Clive in 2023. The engine is named Nell after the builder’s grandparents’ surname ‘Nelson’ – they were keen rally-goers. At 1.75 tons in weight it is an interesting engine to rally. Clive has taken off the canopy and placed a seat on the back.

 

 

The John Reeves Trophy for Best Miniature was presented to Mark Cassel

This feature comes from the latest issue of Old Glory, and you can get a money-saving subscription to this magazine simply by clicking HERE